"We practice disaster drills so many times during the year that when this one came up I wondered if people would think it was practice too," said Southwest Mississippi Regional Administrator Tom Logue this morning. "But when the first patient arrived, we went to work. They knew this wasn't a drill. I was real proud of everyone at the hospital," he said. Logue and most hospital employees, as well as Civil Defense personnel and others who took part in the rescue operations following Thursday night's plane crash near Gillsburg, had gone through an almost sleepless night. Six persons died in the crash and of the 20 survivors, four
were listed in critical condition at SMRMC today. Eight others were transferred during the night to Jackson hospitals, seven were listed in stable condition at SMRMC, and one was not hospitalized. Among the injured were members of the musical rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd. Three members were killed (see related stories). In critical condition in the intensive care unit at the McComb hospital were Leon Wilkeson, bass guitarist, with chest injuries, multiple abrasions and fractured left arm and left leg; Craig Reed, a member of the road crew, chest
injury , lacerations and abrasions, fractured left arm; James Bracy, road crew, chest wound, abrasion, fractured left arm. Listed in critical condition, but not the intensive care unit, was Kevin Elson, the groups sound engineer, with a fractured right leg and ankle, fractured pelvis and left leg. Others, still being treated at SMRMC, all in stable condition this morning. were Ron Eckerman, road manager, chest contusion and rib fractures, and road crew members Kenneth Peden, multiple contusions, Steve Lawler, chest contusions, facial lacerations;
Clayton Johnson, fractured right clavicle and left elbow; Don Kretzechman, chest injury, abrasions; Joe Osborn, multiple lacerations of the face, fractured ribs, and right clavicle; and Marc Frank, multiple abrasions, probably cerebral contusion. Transferred to University Hospital and listed in stable condition were vocalist Leslie Hawkins, facial lacerations and neck problems; Larken Allen Collins, guitarist, spine injuries; and road crewman Gene Odom, eye injuries and a deep scalp wound, and Paul Welch, injuries not known. At Baptist Hospital,
also listed as stable, were Gary Rossington, guitarist, multiple fractures; Bill Powell, pianist, lacerations; Bill Sykes, a television film crewman, multiple fractures; and Mark Howard, road crew, head and back injuries. Another member of the group, drummer Artimus Pyle, was treated at Beacham Memorial Hospital in Magnolia. He reportedly walked away from the crash site and notified a nearby resident of the crash. Addresses of the victims have not been released to authorities. Logue said emergency treatment facilities were set up in the front
lobby of the hospital before the first patients arrived from the crash scene. "The emergency room would have been bottlenecked with that many people, so we set up a treatment center in the lobby," he said. "The most critically injured were sent directly to surgery, the critical ones were taken care of in the lobby. We had IV bottles and all the necessary equipment to take care of them right there. Those less seriously injured were put in rooms upstairs, including the obstetrics ward, and in the emergency room." Logue said several persons were discharged from the hospital during the night to make room for the accident victims, but that some of those discharged later were readmitted. "It was a problem for a while, finding enough beds," he said. Three helicopters from the Coast Guard, National Guard and Forrest County General Hospital assisted in the rescue operation, Logue said, transporting at least two doctors to the scene and lighting the area with floodlights. Logue noted two problems hampered operations at the hospital during the night. "The telephone was busy all night long" he said. "I talked with people from Sydney, Australia and London, as well as from all over the country." The other problem, he continued, was keeping up with the dentities of the victims. "We had a hard time keeping names straight, and of course everyone wanted a list of the victims and how badly they were hurt". "They did a tremendous job in organizing the operation and handling events as they came up," said Mrs Willy Mae Lund, one of the hospital trustees who assisted during the night.
